Apologies
by Bookman230
Summary: After President Evil, Veronica gives Weevil a much deserved apology and promise. Slightly implied Veronica/Weevil


There Veronica sat, Backup in hand, sitting in the dark and the finest cheap couch money can buy. Deja vu, anyone? Okay, breaking into the same house twice in the same week _sounds_ bad, but that's not even close to Veronica's record. Which… sounds worse. And it'd sound _extra _worse once she told you the house was a friend's. A friend she accused of stealing a precious memento and holding her and others at gunpoint and who she hadn't _technically _apologized to yet. Technically. She tried to tell her conscience that apologies weren't their thing, they just telepathically knew they were okay, they were cool like that. Apologies and heart to heart talks were for Wallace. For Weevil, eye contact and a stoic nod were enough. But consciences are annoyingly stubborn. That was kind of the point of consciences, wasn't it? If they gave up nice and easy, her job would be much easier. Anyway, so here she was, sitting in Weevil's house again, waiting for him to come in, so she could try and say sorry in a way that sounded sincere and not hokey. ...Did she really just think the word hokey? _That's_ hokey. Though to be fair, it's a good word. It's a perfect match for its definition. Hokey _sounds_ hokey. It just doesn't roll off the tongue well. Or brain, or whatever. Hokey. Ho-key. Ho-

The door clicked. Ah, saved by the bell. Her monologues got kinda weird sometimes. Weevil-or the shadowy form she _assumed_ was Weevil, or else this was going to get even _more_ awkward- turned on the lights. To her relief, it was Weevil instead of some extremely low aspiring robber, stealing from a place like this. She was not looking for a heart to heart talk with a random low life. Weevil looked even less surprised to see her this time, looking at her with a deadpan stare.

"We've got to stop meeting like this."

"Do we? I dunno, I think it keeps the excitement alive in our relationship."

He sighed, and asked, "Is this about your pay?"

Veronica tilted her head slightly, actually confused. "Pay?"

"Yeah, for proving my innocence to everyone. Includin' yourself. I was gonna pay you tomorrow, I mean I just got out today. I've seen actual loan sharks with more patience than you."

Why would he think he had to pay? "You have the friends and family discount, remember?"

"Do I now? Huh. Guess I just forgot I fall into that category lately." Ouch. A masterful passive-aggressive low blow from Weevil. "What do you want, Mars?" Mars, instead of V. A subtle touch, yet hits you like a sledgehammer. Mister Navarro is at the top of his game tonight. "Wait, lemme guess. I think I mentioned that one of your jackets looked nice one time. It went missing and now you're here to accuse me of stealing it, right?" And he keeps them coming! Your response, Miss Mars?

"Nah. I hated that jacket anyway, looks much better on you." He tried to hide it, but she could see his lips twitch up, just slightly. Good, Mars. You start with the friendly banter making light of your flaws, then you drop the sincerity bomb. "I'm sorry, Weevil. Really. I… things have been… rough, with the… big case." The Hearst Rapist case. She hope she didn't have to elaborate. Anyone in a 100 mile radius of Hearst knew what the big case was. "Lilly's necklace helped, and when it was stolen I… freaked. And when I freak, I get paranoid. You didn't deserve that."

Weevil just stared at her, and after a moment said, "...That's nice, Mars. Really. But the funny thing with your apologies? They always come _after_ you already get what you want."

That hit home. She looked away, took a moment. Then she looked back, and stared him in the eyes. "I know. I'm not… good at this. Who I am, I just… I can't trust people as much as I should. As much as I want to. I… I just _can't_. With my job, my life… I'm always expecting people to let me down. And then I never give them enough credit when they don't. But you… you're in an esteemed group of people. Not many people get this promise. My dad, Wallace, Duncan, Logan. And now you. This is who I am. But I… I'm going to screw up. I'm going to hurt you. I'm going to fail a _lot_. But for you? ...I promise to change. To _try_ to. For you. That's… that's all I can give, Eli."

He looked at her, silent, and _damn_ could he get unreadable when he really wanted to. She could feel her heart sink in her chest. Then, he shrugged, a small smile on his face.

"Don't bother, V. Who you are is pretty alright." V. He said V. They were cool. She couldn't hold back a grin. "I got some piss poor beer in the fridge, if you want a drink," he told her, pointing to the fridge.

"Why not?"

"And for you, Backup my man, the finest tap water in the house." Backup barked happily. Weevil grabbed two cans and threw one to Veronica, which she deftly caught, as he took a seat.

"Thanks. But I warn you," she began, tipping her can to him, "I can get into 'screw my boyfriend' mode when I drink."

Weevil gasped. "You mean, I might have to listen to you insulting Logan? God forbid, I might actually have to join _in_? He's just so dear to me, V, I don't know if I can-"

She shoved him. "Ah, shut up." He smiled. She smiled back. It was nice. Easy. Not a lot of easy in her life. Sometimes, she wondered-

He clanked his can against hers, and she smiled, her thoughts broken. It didn't matter. This? This was enough.

There was nothing but jokes and dogs and drinks, and just for a night she forgot about college and crimes.


End file.
